The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-02
NEEDS OF ACTRESSES.

~
New YORK, Oct. 1.-"What do / need to
become a successful actressP'
"You need a good nose, with passable
features and a respectable figure added
thereto. You need some brains, voice
capable of training, minimum of nerves
and genius for advertising. You need
perfect health. With all these requisites
you will probably fail, but you won't sue
coed without them, especially without the
health.n
The most charming actresses on the stage
are, with rare exceptions, women of robust
health. Personal charm has quite as much
to do with success on the boards as mental
ability perhaps more-and personal charm
that something which lies deeper than mere
beauty and is called for want of a better
word, ''magnetism"-de to a wonder
full extent on the physical condition of the
actress. Clara Morris is a fiat contradic-
tiona Yes, but her uncannily absorbing art
is scarcely more than study of pathology.
One could not call her charming, as men,
who are the great theatre-goers, understand
the word, though Oscar Wilde did profess
himself snitten and express a desire to see
her in a low-necked dress, which desire was
gratified by lady who introduced the two
at an evening reception some days later.
Mrs Langtrys manager once told me that
the Lily was the best matinee attraction on
the stage. That is, she is as attractive to
women as well as to men. Her healthy
English color has paled of late and she uses
! too much of the cosmetics she puffs, but her
beauty is still the beauty of good health,
and her complexion, when she lets it alone,
the product of clear blood and plenty of
exercise. She is famous walker and must
regret her quarrel with Coghlan if only for
the chance it lost her of still further adver-
Using in his new play her skill with the foils.
Coghlans sister is a woman whose success
has defied the analysis of clever critics
Rose Coghlan is not pretty, at least her face
is not, but two generations have raved over
her beauty. Her first appearance as Rosa
lind. in New York. packed the theatre Her
admirers could not be counted. Her rude
health is the only explanation, that and the
less important possession of a fair allowance
of brains. Rose is rugged and her vigor is
infectious.
When Daily took his company to England
the London Times called Ada Rehan
"pawky." None of us in America knew
what the word meant but it sounded badly
and looked worse, and we were inclined to
be angry about it until the explanation
came that ''pawky" was a provincialism for
charmingly healthy or healthily charming.
Ada Rehan is a wholesomely well woman,
and nobody who ever witnessed her tri-
umphant entry upon the stage in "a Night
Off" or Nancy q Co." could doubt that
her instant and easy mastery over her audi
| ence is gained almost entirely by the breezy
| air of health she carries with her.
1t is the same with Carrie Turner. She
is no beauty, but she is so beautifully healthy
that not one person III ten who sees her calls
| her face to severe account Mrs. George
| Gould, before she became the mother of the
only baby whose long clothes We're ever
| photographed for daily newspaper illustra-
Il
well cared for by good mother, extremely
| fond of the open air and beaming with the
roses of exercise.
Fanny Davenport's strength is a marvel.
Her father was man of fine physical pro-
portions, and have seen Fanny myself, as
Lady Gay Spanker. catch her Dolly in a
rapturOus embrace and swing him three
times round her, his feet performing dizzy
circle in the air but never touching the floor
Fanny doesn't do that now. The antics that
woman went through a couple of years ago,
when she was trying to get rid of her super
abundant flesh, would have killed an ordi-
nary woman, but produced little or no effect
on her. Mary Anderson is a woman whom
nearly all the men OF my acquaintance have
been hopelessly in love with at one time or
another, and strangely enough, all women
like her = too Her charm of manner de-
ponds on her good blue grass constitution,
and | am not sure that she does not owe
more of her freedom from care and worry
to good health than to religion, though the
latter gets all the credit with her. The
Bernhardt used to have the agility and
strength of a cat. Patti is a robust woman.
The queens of opera and tragedy are women
of majestic physique. Frau Materna is i'm
posing to look on Lilli Lehman is woman
of magnificent health.
Janauschek is an old woman but a Vigor-
Gus one. Modjeska is as charming as when
she was younger. | have seen poor Selma
Dolaro, when she must have been past 40,
carry whole theatre full OF people into
raptures by the vigOr and physical perfec-
tion of Spanish shawl dance Annie Robe
is so sound of health that her skin keeps
fresh enough to call for no make up after
years on the stage She has never even
tried dash of powder. Annie Pixley is a
well woman, with a skin as soft as baby's.
Rosina Vokes was something of an invalid
last year, but years ago, when the Vokeses
were all together, it was the bloom and
flush of health in the faces of the girls quite
as much as Fred Nokes funny long legs and
Fawdon Vokes' short ones that made them
popular Rosina is very fond of horses and
she never paints She has fine constitu-
ton to back her.
One hears much of Ellen Terry's invalid
ism but she is better than she looks She
has never taken care of her skin and the
result is misleading. One TuDS ON dense
coat of chalk for the stage, takes no pains
to get it off and her face is shrivelled and
dead looking under the sunlight next morn
ing. 1t is her own fault and she has plenty
of life otherwise. Miss Eastlake does her
self injustice in the same way. She is as
well as a woman could be, but sometimes
looks delicate because she has been careless
with cosmetics and hurt her complexion
Grace Hawthorne has made her success in
London by the buoyant optimism that be-
longs to good digestion. The whole army
of soubrettes, who pattern after Lolita and
Maggie Mitchell, trade on their strength
and freedom from bodily ills. They con-
quer popularity by force of turbulent
health. Invalids on the stage are rare birds
Emma Abbott haunts her exuberant life in
your face. Kate Claxton would be dead
before now if she were not physically sound
to a remarkable degree. / knew a boy who
made plentiful meal of choke cherries and
milk because he had heard the combination
warranted to produce stomachic disorder
and keep a lad home from school, In the
same way sore Threats are conveniences to
singers, and Helen Dauvray's recent ner-
vous prostration disappeared with marvel
Gus suddenness the day after she had dis
banded her company and freed herself from
the necessity of fiinging good money after
bad
There has never been any nonsense about
fashionable pallor on the stage. Stage
beauties, in spite of late hours, the vexation
Fat 8 he 81 49, h,,